The Carolina Hurricanes came into Tuesday's game in dire need of a win after falling to 3-1 in their NHL Playoffs opening-round series against the New York Islanders. At one point in the second period, the Hurricane' chances of securing a crucial home win and thereby starving off elimination took a massive hit — both figuratively and literally.

Unfortunately for Sebastian Aho, it was his face that ended up deflecting the puck, which led to the Islanders doubling their lead early in the second period. Boy, was it a painful sight to see:

Aho took that one right in the mouth and it comes as no surprise that the Hurricanes forward immediately hit the deck after the hit. He was also bloodied up and required medical attention right after the play. Thankfully, Aho was able to return to the bench shortly after the incident, and it appears that he and Carolina were able to dodge a major bullet here.

The Hurricanes can't afford to lose Aho right now — or any other player, for that matter. They entered the break down 3-1 in the game and unless they are able to mount a comeback here, Carolina is now playing in the final game of their season. It's an undeniably huge task to try and come back from a 3-1 series deficit and the odds are clearly against the Hurricanes. At this point, they will just have to take it one game at a time and hope that they live to fight another day after Game 5.